


Bad Days

by TheManOfManyFandoms



Series: Family Is More Than Blood [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Found Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, So does Toph, Toph Beifong and Zuko are Siblings, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Zuko Gets a Hug, Zuko deserves love, Zuko gets nightmares, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24924070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheManOfManyFandoms/pseuds/TheManOfManyFandoms
Summary: They all have bad days sometimes. Zuko’s family is going to help him through this one.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Series: Family Is More Than Blood [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1789564
Comments: 87
Kudos: 1957





	Bad Days

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after “Burning Scream”, so I would recommend at least reading “Sometimes Friends Are Better” before reading this one :)

For the most part, Toph likes living at the palace. She’s lived in the Fire Nation for almost a year and nobody treats her like she’s weak and helpless because she’s blind, or because she’s a girl. The servants treat her with respect instead of coddling her and, to her relief, nobody tries to force her to be “lady-like.”

She also likes being able to stay close to Zuko and Iroh, the latter of whom had opened a tea shop in the Caldera, leaving the tea shop in Ba Sing Se in the hands of a friend from the Earth Kingdom. Even though he doesn’t necessarily say it out loud, she knows that Zuko is relieved that she decided to stay. The others visit quite frequently, having a flying bison as a pet cuts travel time significantly, but Toph has to admit that it’s nice to be close to, at least, one of them on a daily basis and she thinks Zuko shares the sentiment.

She also really doesn’t like to think about Zuko going through one of his bad days on his own. Today is one of those days.

When Zuko joins her for lunch that day, she can feel light tremors running through him and frowns. “What’s up, Sparky?” She asks concernedly.

His heart picks up as he mutters, “Nothing.”

“I can tell when you’re lying, you know,” Toph comments conversationally around a mouthful of food. She sighs when he flinches a little. “I’m not mad or anything,” she says in a softer tone, because sometimes Zuko needs that reassurance.

Sure enough, his heart slows a bit, although it’s still faster than Toph would like. “Sorry,” he mutters and Toph huffs but doesn’t comment on the unnecessary apology, “I just had a rough morning.”

“Was it assholes in your council-meeting thingeys or is it something else?” The earthbender asks, taking a gulp of her overly-bitter tea. She makes a face at the flavor, Uncle Iroh can make better tea than this in his sleep.

She feels Zuko shrug after a moment and tries not to get impatient as he stays silent for a moment longer before saying quietly, “Yeah, there were some assholes and I was- I was already on edge, I guess... I had some pretty bad nightmares last night.”

Toph sits up straighter, clenching her fists a little, “I told you that you can come talk to me at night if they get too bad.”

“I didn’t want to bother you,” Zuko mutters, his voice even quieter.

“Well, I’m telling you right now. You won’t bother me,” Toph says, hoping her voice is calmer than she feels.

Zuko simply mumbles, “Okay.”

She can feel him fiddling anxiously with his robes and says, “How would you feel about turning this into a picnic, Sunshine?”

His heart picks up a little, as it always does whenever someone says something even vaguely complimentary, but he says, “Yeah, okay.”

They gather up their food in silence and Toph slides her meteor bracelet off to create a basket. “It’d take too much time to go get one,” she says in answer to the half amused, half questioning noise Zuko makes.

He huffs a laugh and she feels him shake his head, but he doesn’t protest. “The turtleduck pond?” He asks as he and Toph exit the room.

“Of course,” Toph rolls her eyes, “Where else would we go for a picnic? You insist on seeing the little demons at least once a day.”

“They’re not demons!” Zuko protests, a smile in his voice.

“One of them bit me!” Toph exclaims with fake indignation.

“I didn’t know the greatest earthbender in the world could be defeated by a turtleduck,” Zuko says, his voice full of gentle teasing. He’s still shaky but his heartbeat has calmed some.

“I never said it defeated me!” Toph huffs, “Plenty of things worse than a turtleduck have tried to kill me and yet none have succeeded.” She smirks broadly but Zuko’s heartbeat picks up a bit as she speaks and she wonders belatedly if murder attempts weren’t the best thing to bring up at the moment.

They turn a corner and Toph, busy wondering how to calm Zuko down, runs straight into a pillar. “Ah, fuck!” She exclaims, rubbing her head, “Why didn’t you warn me that was there, Fire Fingers?”

She can feel Zuko trying not to laugh even as he says, “Hey, I didn’t realize! You’re on my left side, you know?” He grows a little quieter at this and Toph can feel him forcing himself not to touch his scar.

Toph bursts into laughter, hoping she can lighten the mood, “One eye between us and we’re still trying to navigate this place alone.”

“Hey! At least we have three ears and your seismic sense,” Zuko counters, his heart rate slowing again.

Toph punches his arm, in that gentle way she reserves for him alone. Hey, when she claims someone as her brother, she means it. Zuko laughs a little and she has to fight the urge to cheer. Sometimes on his bad days, Zuko doesn’t even crack a smile.

By the time they make it to the turtleduck pond, Toph thinks that Zuko feels calmer than he has all day. “I got this, Sunshine, go say hi to your kids,” Toph grins, shooing him away from the basket of food.

Zuko splutters a little. “My _what_?” He squeaks indignantly.

“You heard me,” Toph shrugs a little as she takes the food out of the basket (hoping that she wasn’t putting any plates upside down) before condensing it back into a bracelet. Zuko doesn’t protest again and Toph smirks triumphantly. The earthbender can hear happy chirping coming from the pond and Zuko cooing at the turtleducks as he pets them. She stifles a chuckle at the thought of one of those terrified Earth Kingdom or Water Tribe ambassadors seeing this side of Zuko. Spirits, she would kill to be present for that.

“You’re free for the rest of the day, right?” Toph checks, calling over her shoulder. There’s a telling pause and she feels Zuko’s heart picking up again. “Well, either you’re going to clear out your schedule or I am.”

Zuko sighs wearily, “I have so much to do, Toph. I don’t want anybody to think that I care more about myself then my people.”

“Zuko, taking half of a day off doesn’t make you selfish. You need to take care of yourself sometimes too,” Toph says quietly.

The courtyard is silent for a while, aside from the quacking of the turtleducks. Toph waits, using her bending to twist her meteor bracelet into different shapes to keep herself from getting impatient. Finally, Zuko sighs again and says, “Okay. I’ll take the rest of the day off.” Toph can feel some of the firebender’s tension drain out of him at his words.

Toph grins, “Good, because I was thinking about a proper cup of tea at Uncle’s teashop after we eat.” She feels him perk up a little at this and her grin slides into a softer smile.

When Zuko comes back over to eat, Toph tilts her head with a bit of confusion, “Is there something on your shoulder? It feels... lumpier than usual.”

She feels Zuko’s heart beat in a way that she knows will send heat rushing to his face, “Um, one of the turtleducks wanted to come with me.”

Toph shakes her head with a smile. “I guess that means I’m officially an aunt. Nice to meet you, Your Turtleduckness.” She reaches forward and feels around his shoulder until she can pet the turtleduck’s head. It chirps at her and, okay, maybe she can see why Zuko loves the stupid, little things.

Zuko is silent for a long moment and, when he speaks, his voice is very soft and suspiciously thick, “Thank you, Toph.”

She doesn’t ask why. She already knows. Instead she just punches the shoulder not supporting a turtleduck and says, “No problem, Sparky.” Zuko sniffs and Toph squeezes his shoulder once before drawing back. “Let’s eat before the food gets tragically cold,” she says, her voice a bit too loud. She’s getting better at dealing with emotions, for her friends’ sake, but she’s still not too good at it.

—————

Iroh looks up as the door to The Jasmine Dragon opens and smiles as he sees his nephew and the girl who had claimed him as her uncle. A month or two after the war had ended, she had tried to make up with her parents. She had returned to the Fire Nation after two weeks; tense and cold and furious.

Iroh had invited her to tea after a week of her stomping around the Caldera, shouting at people, in an uncanny imitation of Zuko when they had still been traveling on The Wani. Their conversation had ended with Toph throwing herself into his arms and claiming him to be ‘the best uncle ever.’

Now, however, it doesn’t appear to be the earthbender who is in distress, but Zuko. His nephew looks exhausted and stressed, even as he laughs at something Toph had said. “It is good to see you, nephew,” he calls, untying his apron before making his way over to the pair. His regulars have seen Zuko visiting often enough that the novelty (and fear) of him being the Fire Lord has worn off. They simply bow their heads respectfully as he enters before going back to their tea and conversations.

Today, however, there’s a new customer in the tea shop. He exits his seat and kneels so low, his head nearly touches the floor. The regulars snicker behind their hands, watching for Zuko’s reaction, which can sometimes be quite amusing. Nothing about his reaction is very amusing today. He visibly cringes, taking a hasty step backwards. “Um, p-please get up,” he rasps in a quiet voice.

The man rises, looking doubtful, but, taking in the deadly look on Toph’s face, he, wisely, sits back down without speaking. Toph grips Zuko’s elbow tightly and murmurs something too quiet for Iroh to hear. Something in Zuko’s turbulent expression settles at her words and he nods silently. “I‘m going to take the rest of the day off. If anyone needs anything, ask my lovely assistant over there,” Iroh announces. The young woman in question looks up from where she’s sweeping and gives him a smile and a thumbs up.

The trio walk the very short distance to Iroh’s house and, if Toph still hasn’t released Zuko’s arm, nobody comments. When Iroh lets them in, they make their way to the living room, Zuko and Toph flopping onto the couch. “Tea?” Iroh offers.

“Sure,” Toph grins. Zuko nods tiredly, his eyes closed.

“How about Jasmine for the World’s Greatest Earthbender and Chamomile for the Fire Lord?” Iroh suggests with a smile.

Toph smirks and Zuko groans, the same way they always react when Iroh says something to that effect. “Uncle,” Zuko says, his voice suspiciously close to a whine, “Could you please stop doing that?”

“Come on, Sunshine, even you have to admit that it sounds cool,” Toph grins. Zuko shakes his head emphatically and answers with vehemence. Iroh smiles fondly, leaving them to their bickering as he goes to prepare the tea.

When he returns, both teenagers are sitting up properly, though Zuko looks as if he would like nothing more than to go to sleep right then and there. He hands the chamomile tea to Zuko, who takes it silently, forgetting to thank Iroh in his weariness. Iroh does not mind much and refrains from making a joke about showing a poor, old man some respect.

The first, and only, time he had done that on one of Zuko’s bad days, Zuko, who had already been teetering on the edge of a breakdown, had been sent into a panic attack bad enough that it had taken half an hour, Sokka, and Toph to calm him down. The next day Zuko had apologized for his reaction, but Iroh never wants to risk frightening his nephew so badly ever again.

When he hands Toph her tea she grins and says, “Thanks, Uncle!”

Zuko stiffens a bit and, without looking up, mumbles, “Oh, right. Thank you, Uncle.”

”It was no trouble,” Iroh says easily. Zuko’s shoulders lose some of their tenseness at this and Iroh can’t help but to be relieved. He sits down on the other side of the couch and sips at his own tea.

”Ah, this is the good shit right here,” Toph sighs as she takes a gulp of her own, still steaming hot, tea.

Zuko snorts with laughter, nearly choking on his tea, while Iroh just shakes his head with a smile. “I’m glad it is to your liking,” he says, chuckling. By the time they finish their tea, Zuko looks more tired than ever. “How did you sleep last night, nephew?” Iroh questions shrewdly.

Zuko shrugs, not meeting his eyes. “Not great,” he admits, clearly fighting a yawn.

When he finally does yawn, Toph follows suit and scowls, “Oh, fu- damn you, Sparky.” Zuko smirks a little as the metalbender punches his arm.

Iroh stands up and clears away the tea and, by the time he gets back, Zuko has slid into a more comfortable position, his eyes closed once more. Iroh sits next to him and, when Zuko cracks an eye open, Iroh raises an arm invitingly. Zuko only hesitates for a moment before sliding under the arm and settling his head comfortably on his uncle’s chest. Toph lays down with her head against the arm of the couch, arms behind her head and feet resting on Zuko’s legs. Zuko lets out another jaw-cracking yawn and squeezes his eyes shut again. Iroh smiles down at him gently and begins to sing softly:

_Leaves from the vine_

_Falling so slow_

_Like fragile, tiny shells_

_Drifting in the foam_

_Little soldier boy_

_Come marching home_

_Brave Soldier boy_

_Come marching home_

By the time he is done singing, Zuko is fast asleep, breathing deeply and, thankfully, peacefully. For a moment, Iroh remembers another sleep-deprived teenager finding rest at Iroh’s side, but he banishes the thought. Zuko is not Lu-Ten and Iroh would never wish for him to be.

“That’s some good singing, Uncle,” Toph says quietly, her voice uncharacteristically soft, “For an old man, that is,” she adds with her usual snark. Iroh chuckles quietly and gives both teenagers a fond look. He loves his little family so very much and, by the way Toph reaches forward and gives his arm a very a soft punch and the way Zuko burrows more firmly into his side in his sleep, he knows that they do too.

**Author's Note:**

> My reference for the man in the tea shop’s reaction is from the way Ty Lee bowed to Azula (a friend) in S.2 Ep.3. I figured that, because it hasn’t been very long since the war ended, those who haven’t met Zuko would still be fairly fearful of The Fire Lord. 
> 
> This was going to be way angstier than it turned out to be but the fluff was too cute to leave out. This was a fun one to write (possibly my favorite so far) and I hope you all enjoyed it! (Comments and Kudos are my lifeblood so feel free to give me feedback!)


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